Tag Archives: crime

Man jailed following attempted theft of Magna Carta

Posted on: July 28, 2020 by Paul Stevenson

Readers of this blog may recall the 2018 attempted theft by Mark Royden of Salisbury Cathedral’s copy of Magna Carta. Reports confirm that Royden attacked the document’s protective case before being pursued by members of the public, including American tourists, cathedral staff, and stonemasons, who detained him in a works yard outside. In a welcome […]

Open workshop on art crime at Queen Mary

Posted on: June 17, 2016 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

This Tuesday, 21st June, there will be an open workshop on art crime at Queen Mary, University of London. The workshop, entitled Art, Crime and Criminals: Painting Fresh Pictures of Art Theft, Fraud and Plunder, is part of an AHRC-funded series that will continue in two further segments, one more in London (on frauds and forgeries) […]

Good news as UK to finally adopt Hague Convention

Posted on: May 19, 2016 by Alexander Herman

At long last… It was announced in the Queen’s speech yesterday that the UK Parliament would see the introduction of a bill to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This is a positive sign and one that had been hinted at (with little more) by […]

Conviction at last under 2003 Act

Posted on: May 11, 2016 by Alexander Herman

An important piece of legislation, brought into force around the time of the UK’s accession to the UNESCO 1970 Convention in 2002, has at last been used as the basis for a conviction. The statute, the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003, sets out an offence for dishonestly dealing in tainted cultural objects. The term ‘tainted’ for […]

Upcoming conference: Recent Developments in Art and Cultural Property Law

Posted on: October 29, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

We are happy to announce an upcoming one-day conference to be held in London on 28th November 2015 entitled Recent Developments in Art and Cultural Property Law (pdf flyer here). The conference will cover a number of new and exciting legal trends in the area involving: the new sentencing guidelines for heritage crimes the new Museums Association Code of […]

Sale today of once-“obscene” Mapplethorpe photo

Posted on: October 7, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

Today, Sotheby’s New York will be auctioning off a print of a controversial Robert Mapplethorpe photograph entitled Man in Polyester Suit (no, we won’t describe it for you). Twenty-five years ago the work was at the centre of criminal proceedings brought against the Cincinnati Art Center and its director for contravening US obscenity laws after the institution had […]